2010 Year in Review

Among the many notable scientists who passed away this year are the 10 listed below, whose contributions to the advancement of our understanding of the world and how it works were both groundbreaking and influential. Here, we acknowledge a collection of figures from diverse fields of science and from institutions and organizations worldwide. And whether known for their experiments, theories, or inventions or for their ability to instill in individuals and governments the significance of exploring and protecting the environment, all have had lasting impacts on science.
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As we close the year, we asked Britannica's editors for some of the articles that they edited, reviewed, read, or wrote this year that they would recommend to our readers. Here are a few of them. Read the rest of this entry »

The stars shone a bit dimmer at the end of 2010, with the passing of a number of stage and screen giants. They included representatives from Hollywood's golden age, two members of an esteemed acting family, a number of American television icons, and two stars of the 1980 comedy Airplane. Read the rest of this entry »

Cable network Showtime seems to run on the steam they generate.
Other channels are becoming increasingly reliant on them as an alternative fuel source.
Once relegated to the periphery of TV land, their struggles an afterthought, perhaps worthy of a single episode, women teetering on the verge now populate many of cable's most-watched shows. Whether these characters are feminist icons or merely exploitative embodiments of the stereotypes that plague American women is left to the viewer to decide.
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Though these visual artists shuffled off their mortal coils in 2010, they were granted a degree of immortality by the sketches, dances, paintings, and cartoons that they left behind. Read the rest of this entry »

Popular music lost a number of its cherished icons in 2010. The list below, which includes a country troubador turned sausage magnate, a founding father of alternative rock, a velvet-voiced soul lothario, and an operatic legend, were just some of them. Read the rest of this entry »

Earlier this year, Britannica Blog introduced a new series of posts called "5 Questions," in which a Britannica editor interviewed an expert on some subject of narrow or very broad interest. While we started out calling them 5 Questions, sometimes we couldn't resist asking a few more, and we're grateful to all of our busy interviewees for their time—and the enlightenment they brought to us and our readers.
Since May we've conducted nearly 50 interviews ranging from the world of fashion to the world of space and beyond. Next year, we'll hit the ground running, and we invite you to email us with any interview ideas you have—or about anything else you might want to see on Britannica Blog. Read the rest of this entry »

Well, it's that time of year when sites release the Top 10 of this or the Top 10 of that, and at Britannica, we're no different. Here were the most-read articles on our consumer Web site, Britannica.com, for 2010. History and economics dominate the list, with a little sprinkling of the arts and geography. Read the rest of this entry »

Well, it's that time of year when sites release the Top 10 of this or the Top 10 of that, and at Britannica, we're no different. Here were the images with the most number of page views on our consumer Web site, Britannica.com, for 2010. Body parts, war, and devastation top the list. Read the rest of this entry »

This week, this year's recipients of the Nobel Prize generally pick up their awards and deliver their Nobel lecture, with the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize receiving his or her award on December 10. Absent, though, this year will be the 2010 Peace Prize winner, Chinese writer, teacher, and human rights activist Liu Xiaobo, who last December was sentenced to 11 years in prison last year for subversion.
Here we reprint an essay that will appear in the forthcoming Britannica Book of the Year 2011 that takes a look at all the winners this year. Read the rest of this entry »